Saturday, October 6, 2012

Marmalade and Soul

I visited Marmalade and Soul, on the recommendation of Mr. B, as we had been exchanging brunch places…as you do in Melbourne.

It's definitely not somewhere I would have usually thought of visiting for breakfast, Clifton Hill is not a regular direction for me to head out to, but Marmalade and Soul really turned out to be a little gem.

First thing really, unlimited parking? Plenty of it? On a Saturday? Totally a winner with me. It's honestly one of my worries when I go try out somewhere new, in an area I'm not familiar with. As I don't really want to deal with Brad getting cranky about not being able to find a park….

It was love upon stepping in, as it was a wonderfully inviting environment, kind of quirky, filled with bric-a-brac, homely with a fun little buzz to it, although an instant heartbreak as well…when I realised I had left my camera battery charging at home. Argh! Food blogger nightmare!

Fortunately in the times we live, I can still capture some of my experience with the iPhone camera at the least!

It was hard not to be smiling in Marmalade and Soul, the staff leading the way, brimming with positive energy and joy. What better way to start a weekend really?

The menu was quite fun to read through, with some slightly more unusual and interesting breakfast options…beer bread porridge? Buttermilk pikelets with roast pineapple, pink peppercorn and gingerbread butter? God, how good does gingerbread butter sound? It was hard not to order everything on the breakfast menu!

My chai latte was smooth, and went down easy. Was very tempted to get a second one, but just as well that I didn't, since my deep panned omelette with bubble and squeak turned out to be quite a serve…

But it was so fluffy, airy and tasty, almost deceptively so, as it sounded like it would be a much heavier dish. Even with cauliflower and potatoes it was quite light and very delicious. The mayonnaise and HP sauce on top made it incredibly addictive, and in a way, kind of made me think of okonomiyaki!

Brad's cassoulet also looked amazing, smelt wonderful. The croutons were crispy crispy joy and I loved the sausages.

With a dessert display like this, it was much too hard to resist getting a sweet after, so after our dishes were whisked away, I promptly jumped to my feet to survey the selection. Everything sounded delicious. I felt like a kid in a candy store.

However, when I was told that a giant sticky date macaron existed…well…well…well…

I think I found heaven. I thought it was coffee from the look of it at first, but when bit into, it really tasted like dates, spices and sticky sweetness. This may be possibly one of my favourite macaron flavours. Just possibly. Sure it was double the size of a typical macaron, but it was still over too soon.

At the end of it all, I was simply just charmed by Marmalade and Soul and have been hanging out for a second visit. I mean…who doesn't want beer bread porridge? How else are you supposed to subtly incorporate beer into your morning?

I have also been told by Mr. B that the dinners are exceptional, showing me a picture of the DECONSTRUCTED SHEPARDS PIE he had when he visited. It is in capitals because that is how my brain thinks it should look like to emphasise the amount of amazing that it sounds like. Time for another visit soon methinks then….